What to look for in a new GYM?

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fitness_faeiry
fitness_faeiry Posts: 354 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
- Range of equipment and facilities/classes
- Opening times
- Location /parking etc
- How quickly does stuff get mended/replaced if broken
- Space (I like space to do HIIT - and this is essential for me)
- General traffic - how busy does it get?
- Level of comfortableness with working out there - general atmosphere
- Type of people (think this can make a HUGE difference!)
- Friendliness and Helpfulness of Staff

What do people look for when seeking a new gym to train in? I have just moved to a new location and have spent the last month checking out all the gyms and fitness centres in the area. So far been to a Fitness First, David Lloyd, Private fitness Club, Sports/leisure centre, a 24 Hour Gym. And I still haven't made a decision as to which one to join!

My main dilemma is cost. There doesn't seem any middle ground in pricing - you can either go cheap (£40 a month) for the not so nice places or double that and go top whack £80 per month for the best gym. David Lloyd gym is really nice, and has everything - equipment wise. It has great space and the staff are very helpful - membership also comes with free personal trainer sessions. There is also a nice restaurant that sells Nutritionally balanced Paleo food. BUT... I don't know if I can justify spending double my old gym membership on such an extravagance Club. Seems overpriced to me. Anyone else have any opions? What do you think is important when it comes to choosing a gym?

Replies

  • No_Finish_Line
    No_Finish_Line Posts: 3,662 Member
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    i guess i'd like to say an extensive free weight area, but i guess for me its really location, location, location lol
  • Shawshankcan
    Shawshankcan Posts: 900 Member
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    How many squat racks they have. That is it.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    I primarily use a gym for weight training and I do full body strength training with barbells...I need a gym that has squat racks and power racks and lots of plates, barbells, and dumbbells. I also need a place where people don't get their panties in a wad because I'm doing a 1 RM clean and jerk and dropping the weight from above my head in order to not rip my arms out of their sockets by playing nice and trying to control the weight coming down.

    My current gym is a converted 3 bay garage storage facility that caters primarily to power lifters, boxers, and graplers and there are a couple of professional MMA fighters that go there. The music is loud, chalk seems to always be hanging in the air and someone is always pounding away on the heavy bags...it's awesome. Add to that, it's a 24/7 facility and you just get a code for the door so I can go whenever I want and it's never super busy...I think at most there have been 10 people in there at once.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    > squat racks
    > time distance/travel relationship to my work, my home and my dance studio
    > do they have an aerobics room with mirrors- what do their class schedules look like (I use the room for dance training- so more classes is bad)
    > price
  • nikki2572
    nikki2572 Posts: 11 Member
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    I wish I had better gym options. Currently only one Gym in my area works for my schedule and commute. It is half way between my business and home. Every other gym is out of the way (making it almost impossible and to costly).

    The cost is very low but they are way to Cardio Machine Orientated. Currently I am using the machines. Their is very little variety in the weight machines and they don't adjust enough to fit my body size. I want to venture more into the free weights area (which is small) but I haven't gotten up the nerve yet.

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